Rod Review – Douglas DXF Gen2 (8904) Fly Rod By Steve Lawes.

During the ‘recce day’ at The Salt Festival held in St Mawes, I was given the opportunity to try-out a new Douglas fly rod for the day: the DXF Gen 2 9 foot 8-weight (probably the standard fly rod for UK Sea Bass). 

My usual ‘workhorse’ rod for Bass in UK waters is an Orvis Recon II, so I was intrigued to see how the Douglas performed and compared with the Recon using with my normal set-up, which is a mid-intermediate line, 10 foot tapered leader and lightweight baitfish fly.

Firstly, the DXF Gen2 looks great. It has a dark blue blank and the varnish/resin that coats the rod has been impregnated with fine glitter, which sparkles in the sunlight, which Douglas call ‘colour-shifting’. The grip is a very comfortable, full double wells (I dislike grips that are too slim, as I have large hands). The reel seat has double upward locking rings, which held my reel in place really firmly (with almost continuous, strenuous casting often required in saltwater this is crucial).

The rod action is described by Douglas as moderate fast and felt stiff, tippy and powerful. I was able to cast almost the complete fly line without having to ‘hit’ the cast too hard. When I did try to hit the forward cast a bit harder and lower, in order to create tight loops into the wind, the line and leader still turned-over successfully and the rod didn’t create any tailing loops at all. For me, this was the most impressive aspect of the rod. In challenging conditions, there is nothing worse than having to change leader/tippet material to deal with ‘wind-knots’.

During the day I fished a number of different marks, casting both with and into the wind and the DXF Gen2 was an absolute joy to use (and a fair number of small Bass were landed). In summary, I would say it felt really light in the hand quite stiff, fast, tippy and powerful. On that basis, I don’t believe it is a rod suitable for a complete beginner, but a rod for someone who is already at least an adequate/improving caster.

The Douglas DXF Gen2 is currently on sale for £550 through Upavon Flyfishing, which compares with £539 (currently) for the same specification/model in an Orvis Recon 2, so on a value for money basis, I would say that it compares very favourably indeed.

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